Red Island Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Hawkes Bay, New Zealand)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Red Island Surf Guide

Red Island in Hawkes Bay is a quite exposed beach and reef break that does not work very often with no particular seasonal pattern. Works best in offshore winds from the northwest. Windswells and groundswells in equal measure and the best swell direction is from the southeast. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights and in addition there are both left and right reef breaks.. Best around mid tide. It's sometimes crowded here.

Red Island Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and reef	2	inconsistent	15.5°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Red Island:

The best conditions reported for surf at Red Island occur when a Southeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Red Island (for consistent clean waves)?

juneBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Red Island with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of June. Clean surfable waves are typically found 18% of the time in June while 35% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 47% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

18%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

35%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

47%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Red Island Location Map

Interactive Red Island surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Red Island is Palmerston North Airport (PMR) in New Zealand, 128 km (80 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Red Island is Taupo Airport (TUO), also in New Zealand, 146 km (91 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Red Island Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 04:08 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	3AM	6AM	9AM	12PM
Wave (m)	S	SSW	S	S
Period (s)	14	14	17	16
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- off	off	cross- off

What does Red Island look like?

Latest photos from Red Island. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Kooza Credit: Kooza Credit: Kooza

Tides at Red Island

Current tide and informaton

For Cray Bay, 1 km from Red Island.

Next High Water: 08:47am | 1.33m

Next Low Water: 02:58pm | 0.28m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Red Island Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.5 °C) at Red Island is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (17.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 15.5°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite